Seven games are not enough to judge a new manager and 12 new players. We're not Watford. A point from any away game is a point gained. All of our players had good ratings on WhoScored and we outscored Stoke in the team average 6.92 to 6.77. I thought we defended well under pressure and every player put in a shift. There were other positives as Makama got on to a well worked chance and scored his second goal in two games. Mattsson has slotted in well and followed last week's 7.4 rating with a 7.3 yesterday and is now our highest ranked player. IMO, there's better to come.
IF we go another month or 2 without a home point the season is pretty much done , even the positive away form has turned into draws. None of the games this season have been enjoyable to watch , it's basically hanging on for life for 70 minutes before the inevitable capitulation
How long is enough then? Do we have to ruin the season? We have a top six squad in terms of cost/value. If there were signs of quality, or we had been unlucky, I’d be the first calling for patience - but I don’t see any room for improvement under this style.
Apparently we have been playing negative backwards sideways football for so long that Manning has no say in the style of play, despite having pretty much a brand new team . At this point I would rather have stuck with Jack Wilshire at least he got a home win
Last season started much the same, we were 15th in the table and all and sundry, including the Pinkun journos, were pleading for patience as we embarked on a 3 year transition. I was dubious, but I didn't urge ousting Thorup. Any new manager with new players needs time to establish his system. That has been made more challenging by the injuries, including Kvistgaarden and Diallo who between them cost £11.5m, which has produced constant team changes. We've invested in Manning and we should see half a season at the least before passing judgement unless we want to become another Watford.
